Access to public information in Latin America

The Human Rights Brief
n a thematic regional hearing petitioned for by the Alianza Regional por la Libre Expresión e Información (Alliance), an NGO promoting freedom of information and expression across Latin America, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) discussed the access to public information in Central and South America. No states were present. Alliance members presented findings of their report detailing a severe lack of advancement on the part of many Latin American nations in allowing free access to government records and information. Commissioners Dinah Shelton, Rodrigo Escobar Gil, and María Silvia Guillén, who previously reviewed the report, took the opportunity during the hearing to ask questions and listen to specific recommendations from the Alliance.